1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming system connecting a plurality of image forming apparatuses such as copiers, facsimiles, printers and the like, via communications lines.
2. Description of Related Art
Heretofore, an image forming system has been known, for example, to connect a plurality of copiers provided with external communications functions and image memory, via communications lines, and allocate parts of a print job to a plurality of said copiers to accomplish copying as if by a single copier, so as to increase the copying speed and printing output capacity. See Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication Nos. 07-123224; 07-123218; and 07-95334.
In the aforesaid conventional image forming system, using two connected copiers as an example, when the connected printing mode is set and a first copier allocates part of a print job to a second copier so as to execute said print job together, another user attempting to operate said second copier to print a rush job will be unable to print the rush job with said second copier until the currently executing print job has completely finished because said second copier is printing the job allocated under the connected printing mode. Furthermore, when a first user has set the connected printing mode in a first copier and a second user attempts to operate a second copier to print a rush job, the rush job cannot be printed by said second copier until the print job allocated under the connected printing mode has been completely finished because said second copier cannot be used immediately due to the usage priority set by the connected printing mode.
Therefore, the start of the print job of the second user is disadvantageously delayed, which has a markedly adverse affect on operation characteristics particularly when large jobs are allocated under the connected printing mode.